Matt Cooking, Cooking Stuff, Food, Japanese

JAPANESE CREPE CAKE

You know those food videos that people share on Facebook or Instragram? The ones from Tasty or Buzzfeed. The ones that have the simple relaxing music that take you step-by-step of a very involved recipe in 30 seconds and make it look super easy. So easy that you share it on social media and think, “this looks super simple, I’m going to post this and make it later!” Only you never make it later. It ends up in the food video graveyard on your Facebook wall. So yes, “those” food videos. Well, I actually made one of those!

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Matt Cooking, Cooking Stuff, Family, Friends, Japanese, Travel

HULA’S KITCHEN: PART 1

Every time we visit Japan, we always visit Aya’s friend Kio. They met way back in the fifth grade and have kept in contact all these years. She was even one of Aya’s bridesmaids in our wedding. I find that quite impressive considering the long distance between. It would have been very easy for them to lose touch with each other. Through their friendship I met Kio’s mom, Izumi, at our wedding party in Japan. And with the power of Facebook, her mom and I are now “friends.” She doesn’t speak very much English and I don’t speak Japanese, but we both understand the same language; FOOD.

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Matt Christmas, Holidays, Japanese, Travel

Kentucky Christmas!

In spirit of our trip to Japan this year, our Christmas card is a spoof on the “Kentucky Christmas” in Japan.

KFC opened in Japan in the early 70s (if my sources are correct, KFC came to Japan before McDonald’s did). In 1974 they started the Kentucky For Christmas marketing campaign, and because of the success of this campaign, it has become a cultural phenomenon. Each year you can buy the Christmas set complete with a collector’s plate. Other stores have caught on to the popularity too and promote chicken dinners as well. Due to the influence of KFC, chicken dinners have become synonymous with Christmas. Talk about good marketing!

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Matt Cooking, Cooking Stuff, Food, Holidays, Japanese, Recipes, Thanksgiving

THANKSGIVING KOROKKE

One Japanese food that’s always good to eat is korokke (croquette). Korokkes are a mashed potato patty with a filling coated in panko and then deep fried. Fillings can vary. Meat, cheese, vegetables, and all the combinations. While it’s fun to eat, it’s not super fun to make because they are very labor intensive. That’s why I usually only make them once a year and make enough to keep in the freezer. And with a mountain of leftover mashed potatoes from Thanksgiving dinner, it’s the perfect time to make them.

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Matt Cooking, Cooking Stuff, Food, Japanese, Recipes

MABO CHILI (マーボーチリ) mabo dofu + chili

When Aya and I first got married, one dish she made frequently was mapo tofu, or mabo dofu. From what I understand, it’s originally a Chinese dish, but is a very common dinner meal in Japan. It’s a really simple tasty dish. Even my dad likes it and he doesn’t like tofu! But recently I was on a quest to find a perfect fusion chili recipe. Our school district has a chili cook-off every year and I was curious what would be a good chili that represented our Japanese immersion school. That captured both American and Japanese tastes. My first try was Japanese curry chili (which was fantastic), and now I decided to combine mapo tofu and chili. All the main ingredients of a typical chili recipe, but with all the spices of mapo tofu. The results were pretty good!

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